Tony once was a guest to a home in Texas and the hostess asked “have you ever had chicken fried steak?”  Tony’s reply: “No!”

What he received was crispy cube steak smothered in pan gravy with mashed potatoes.  Tonight I tried to reinvent that recipe.  The results?  Um, not as flavorful, not as crispy and the meat wasn’t as moist.  So I am going to try again so I am not going to post this recipe just yet. 

the meat was pan fried in about 1 teaspoon of canola oil and Pam
the meat was pan fried in about 1 teaspoon of canola oil and Pam

 It definitely was crispy in the pan, but then I had to remove it to make the pan gravy.  I put the meat on a rack in a 275 oven to keep it warm, so maybe it cooked a little more?  Maybe next time I’ll leave that step out.   If anyone has any tips about chicken fried steak, could you let me know?

it looks good though!  Tony's plate. . .
it looks good though! Tony's plate. . .

My meat ended up weighing 3.8 ounces, 3/4 cup mashed potatoes, 4 ounces broccoli with 1/2 ounce shredded cheese and about 1/4 cup of the gravy.  Unfortunately, I like things spicy, Tony does not, so I think I under season so as not to offend everyone else.  Tony is convinced I have burned off my taste buds and I have none left!

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Yep, I added crushed red pepper to my tots!

So we have a finalized menu for Thanksgiving!  I’ll be sure to post it – Hannah is going to be making two dishes, both of which involve cheddar cheese and bacon! 

I decided to tape Biggest Loser since its a 2 hour show – I am pretty sure without commercials I can watch it in about 40 minutes!  Fingers crossed that Vicky gets booted tonight!

One more day until the weekend for me!  See you at breakfast!